3 charged, held on $1M bond, in attack on murder-hearing attendee as he exited courthouse
Three men on parole are facing new charges and being held in lieu of $1 million bond after allegedly beating another man outside a suburban Chicago courthouse on Monday.
The injured man had just exited the Will County Courthouse after attending a pretrial hearing in the murder case against 16-year-old Christopher Stamps, sheriff’s spokeswoman Kathy Hoffmeyer told the Herald-News. She said three rival gang members who had also been at the courthouse then attacked the unidentified victim, who is 22, and were immediately taken into custody.
Charged with aggravated battery and mob action are Christian M. Blackwell, 23, Makhi T. Jones, 20, and Martell K. Jones, 26. They are on parole, respectively, in a robbery case, a firearm case and a drug case.
Following a courthouse shouting match that took place after a previous pretrial hearing in the Stamps case earlier this month, additional security was on hand Monday, Hoffmeyer told the Chicago Tribune. She said the northwest courthouse entrance was closed Monday while the bloody battle scene was being cleaned.
The victim of yesterday’s attack was hospitalized but his injuries are not believed to be life-threatening.
At yesterday’s hearing for Stamps, before the beating incident, Judge Dave Carlson referred to the shouting match and warned attendees that he was prepared to hold in contempt those who disrupt the legal process, the Herald-News reports.
“This court will not tolerate less than respectful behavior, whether it involves the defendant’s family or the alleged victim’s,” the judge said, promising that “the court will not stand by idly” if further misbehavior occurs.
An earlier ABAJournal.com post provides more details.
